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Not to be a smartass but how much is several?

If you've recently re-located, I have to recommend, at least at some point, catch the redwoods and sequoias almost anywhere in California. They create a great deal of shade which means often lush green ground cover below. Sequoia and King's Canyon parks are about 4 hours North of LA (hence my first question).

If you head into the sierras, there are various sorts of forests, meadows and green rolling hills worth exploring (you can spend a lifetime doing so).

Closer to LA, you have the Angeles National Forest and associated trails and ranges. There are pine forests, some creeks and rivers. These mountains are quite arid, rising above the LA Basin and the high desert towards the North. It may take some getting used to but it's really your back yard. Switzer Falls is a pretty quick drive and recommended. Eaton Canyon is closer, if you're in Pasadena but can be a bit of a crowd scene. I've never gotten around to it but Malibu has legendary trails green and close to the ocean.

Check out Casey Schreiner's book, Day Hiking Los Angeles and website. I can't recommend those highly enough. The kindle version you can load on your phone and bring with you on your hikes. Most of those quick day hikes are going to be great. Don't overlook the epic parks in LA like Griffith, Elysian, the Arroyo in Pasadena, Runyon and other canyons in the hills. I have to recommend also, some from his book and some from others, The San Gabrielino Trail, The San Gabriel River and we have some interesting parks based around flood control basins that are sprawling multi-use recreation areas such as the Sepulveda dam, Whittier Narrows and The Santa Fe Dam (I don't know a ton about those but intend to in the future).

Drive up the Crest (Highway 2 out North of Foothill) and you will be transported to the mountains within minutes. You can drive this route for hours till you come out the other side. Literally everywhere along that road is going to be a nice break from the city. In these areas, you're going to experience an elevation gain that takes some by surprise and it's quite hot so stay hydrated, be prepared, don't overdo it and you'll want to pick up a wilderness pass so you can park.

The loop we did is marked on your topo as the navy blue line to "Jct 1100", then the purple line up the ridge to Four Corners, then the green line back to Bluewater and then San Mateo Creek. We didn't go any further southwest down San Mateo Creek than the junction with Bluewater Creek, so I can't tell you about campsites there. I have heard (from Jerry Schad's guide) that there are some good places to camp near "Picnic Rock" a couple miles down the creek from the Bluewater junction. I don't know any more specifics than that.

Some of Jerry Schad's hike guides were published in the San Diego Reader, so you can find them for free on the web but I highly recommend the books for SD and Orange county, they are fantastic.

All the creeks were flowing great; there was tons of water. Deep enough to swim in some places. That was a month ago, so it's wise to check with the rangers first just to be safe, but I bet there will be plenty of water in the creeks. The first water we saw after we got on the ridge was where the green line crosses the marked creek about 1.5 miles SSW of Four Corners (33.5745, -117.4429). That was flowing pretty well but kind of hard to access in places. I didn't look too hard for the springs in Oak Flats, since we were heading right back down to the creeks, so I can't tell you if there is water up there or not.

EDIT: Oh crap Hikin' Jim! Your blog post was one of the big reasons why I decided to do this trip! You probably already know 90% of what I just told you, sorry for being pedantic.

You can probably find someone to go with but I'm not sure what it takes to be properly insured as a professional guide to protect against personal liability. You might have better luck going with a group through meetup or some other hiking club.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS754US754&q=meetup+cactus+to+clouds

There have been many groups going in the past.

There are lots of training guides for hiking/mountaineering

https://www.amazon.com/Training-New-Alpinism-Climber-Athlete/dp/193834023X

http://www.fitclimb.com/page/12-week-mountaineering-fitness

You can also look at stuff for Whitney and start training:

http://www.fitclimb.com/page/mt-whitney-conditioning

The best training is probably to go hike with a similiar pack weight as much as you can. Start getting out and doing treks with 5000-8000ft elevation gain. Socal has lots of local peaks you can do.

I had a great trip last may in the San Bernardino forest near Big Bear along the PCT. I parked at the junction of Holcomb Creek and Coxey Road (3N14). You then hike about 7-8 miles North on the PCT towards Holcomb Creek. We made camp there and then continued north to Deep Creek. There is a really cool steel bridge that crosses this creek.

The trail is exposed past Holcomb, so be cautious with heat. We also saw a few rattlesnakes so watch out for those guys as well. The area was nice and we met a lot of solo backpackers.

There were some fires in this area over the last year. I have no idea what survived and what didn't so i would do a lot of research before considering this hike.

I used this book as a reference: San Bernardino Mountain Trails

1. Always carry a few water purification tablets. They are super light and are really helpful if you accidentally run out of water.
   
   
   
2. Wrap a bunch of duct tape around your hiking poles in case you need it later to prevent blistering, use as a bandage, or whatever else.
   
   
   
3. on the subject of duct tape, use duct tape instead of moleskin. it's way cheaper and stays on better.
   
   
   
4. Always carry a Buff if there's any chance of cold or wind.
   
   

I have the katadyn Vario and i've used the MSR Sweetwater EX. They are both good. My favorite now is the cheap ($20) Sawyer squeeze filter. I use it with a Platypus bag as a gravity filter. The Vario and MSR weigh too much and there is much more maintenance. The sawyer squeeze is very popular. You don't need the Platypus bag, you can use the sawyer squeeze by itself.

sawyer squeeze

platypus big zip

A good starter peak to camp on is Timber Mountain. There is a broad flat area just North-East of the summit that is perfect for camping. It's a shorter hike than Cucamonga but starts at the same trailhead (Icehouse Canyon).

Columbine Spring used to be reliable but last time I was there (a few months ago) it was barely a trickle. So you would likely need to pack all your water with you.

As for a stove I've been using the same cheap $7 backpacking stove from Amazon for years. I recommend it to anyone just starting out since it is cheap and you can start to get a feel for what you want to cook when you backpack. Then later you can always upgrade to a JetBoil or Pocket Rocket and keep your first stove as a backup.

The best place to check out local hiking books is your closest REI.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Moon Guides: Camping CA, Hiking CA
These are the most general as they cover the whole state.

Robert Stone: Day Hikes Around Los Angeles
This is just one of many hiking books he has in CA.

Schad Afoot and Afield: Los Angeles County

Schad: Afoot and Afield: Orange County

Harris: Afoot and Afield: Inland Empire

Shad/Turner: Afoot and Afield: San Diego County

Casey Schreiner: Day Hiking Los Angeles
Casey is the new kid on the block. He runs the Modern Hiker blog

Robinson/Christiansen: Trails of the Angeles

Robinson/Harris: San Bernardino Mountain Trails

Since you are in Arcadia you should visit the Theodore Payne Foundation. They are a
CA native plant nursery. They have a short hike on their property. They should be able to hook you up with some good hikes in the area, and a hiking club.

This is pretty awesome: https://www.amazon.com/San-Gabriels-Mountain-Country-Soledad/dp/0961542152

There are good answers already, mainly the use of climbing/rope skills and/or snow/ice skills is the difference.

The full range of mountaineering skills is covered in this book:
Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills

this book is pretty delightful:

http://www.amazon.com/Swimming-Holes-California-Trips-Splash/dp/0965768643

Does anyone have an opinion on Hillsound Trail PRO Crampons for baldy/gorgonio? They seems to be a nice compromise between aggressive 12-14 spike crampons with horizontal spikes and insufficient microspikes. Thanks and sorry to hijack.